PETER HICKMAN A LATE WILDCARD FOR BRITISH WORLD SUPERBIKE ROUND

5-time TT winner Peter Hickman is to stand in for BMW Motorrad WorldSBK's Markus Reiterberger this weekend due to a severe flu infection and high fever, ruling him out from flying and competing in this weekend’s Round 8 at Donington Park.

Hickman arrives at Donington Park with a good knowledge of the track and feeling for the new BMW S1000RR from competing in the British Superbike Championship and taking two wins on the new bike at the 2019 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy with the Smiths Racing BMW team.

Shaun Muir, Team Principal said: “We are very sorry to hear that Markus is sick, feels unwell and is not fit to ride this weekend. I thank him for letting us know as soon as possible to give us time to find a replacement. Obviously, it was very important to us to have an existing BMW rider as a replacement rider and Peter Hickman is an ideal choice for us. He is already riding the current bike and he agreed to join us very quickly. So we are very hopeful that he can do a good job for us at Donington Park and assist us with the development of the BMW S 1000 RR. At the same time, I want to thank his team, Smiths Racing BMW, for releasing him for this event and hopefully we can have a good, positive race this weekend before we go to Laguna Seca.”

Marc Bongers, BMW Motorrad Motorsport Director added: “We were very sorry to hear that Markus is suffering from a viral infection and is unable to compete at Donington. With Peter Hickman we were able to find a worthy replacement from the BMW family at very short notice. Peter rides a package very similar to WorldSBK in the British Superbike Championship so it shouldn’t take him long to find his feet. We wish Markus a speedy recovery and Peter good luck for Donington.”

Hickman said: “First of all, I’m sorry for Markus that he is unable to race at the weekend and I wish him a speedy recovery. At the same time, I am happy to step in and support the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team at Donington Park. I didn’t have to think long when I got the call from Shaun Muir. I want to thank the team for the trust and my Smiths Racing BMW team to allow me to compete in WorldSBK this weekend. And a big thanks to Dunlop UK, as I should have been racing in the French Superbike Championship for them this weekend and they enabled me to do WorldSBK instead. It’s quite some years ago when I did some races in this series. But I know the BMW S1000RR and the track at Donington Park very well, so I am confident that I can do a proper job for the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team.”